Andrew Niccol Confirmed To Direct Saoirse Ronan In The Host

It seems likely to happen when Saoirse Ronan first signed on to star last week, and now it's for sure: Andrew Niccol will direct The Host, the adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's non-Twilight book currently being shopped at Cannes. Niccol adapted the screenplay and was personally chosen as a director by Meyer, but turned things upside down a bit when he left the production to direct the thriller Now, which hits theaters this October. According to Deadline the producers repeatedly tried to find someone else but it never worked out, and now they're back to Niccol, the guy they wanted all along.

Now I guess it's time to build a cast around Ronan, who's got a serious job ahead of her playing both human Melanie and alien invader Wanderer; in this version of the War of the Worlds story the infiltrating aliens actually take over the brains of human hosts, but Melanie is particularly resilient and winds up sharing her body with Wanderer, in what sounds like a strange Siamese Twin setup. Wanderer winds up tracking down the people in Melanie's life, who are resisting the alien arrival, and even falling for Melanie's boyfriend-- yes, we've got another Stephenie Meyer love triangle on our hands. Expect an exhausting series of rumors about who will play the love interest for this, and for Liam Hemsworth to inevitably be cast anyway-- because seriously, that guy is everywhere.